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'Tis of a brave young highwayman this story I will tell,
His name was Willie Brennan and in Ireland he did dwell;
It was on the Kilwood Mountain he commenced his wild career,
And many a wealthy nobleman before him shook with fear.
It was Brennan on the moor, Brennan on the moor;
Bold, brave and undaunted was young Brennan on the moor.
One day upon the highway as young Willie he went down,
He met the mayor of Cashel a mile outside of town;
The mayor he knew his features and he said, Young man, said he,
Your name is Willie Brennan, you must come along with me.
It was Brennan on the moor, Brennan on the moor;
Bold, brave and undaunted was young Brennan on the moor.
Now Brennan's wife had gone to town provisions for to buy,
And when she saw her Willie she commenced to weep and cry;
Said, Hand to me that tenpenny, as soon as Willie spoke,
She handed him a blunderbuss from underneath her cloak.
It was Brennan on the moor, Brennan on the moor;
Bold, brave and undaunted was young Brennan on the moor.
Now with this loaded blunderbuss - the truth I will unfold,
He made the mayor to tremble and he robbed him of his gold;
One hundred pounds was offered for his apprehension there,
So he with horse and saddle to the mountains did repair.
It was Brennan on the moor, Brennan on the moor;
Bold, brave and undaunted was young Brennan on the moor.
Now Brennan being an outlaw upon the mountains high,
With cavalry and infantry to take him they did try;
He laughed at them with scorn until at last 'twas said,
By a false-hearted woman he was cruelly betrayed.
It was Brennan on the moor, Brennan on the moor;
Bold, brave and undaunted was young Brennan on the moor.
This variant recorded by the Clancy Brothers (Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem, 1996).
See more songs by the Clancy Brothers.
The YouTube video above features a cover performance by Raymond Crooke of Hong Kong and Melbourne, Australia.
A variant was collected by MacEdward Leach (The Ballad Book, pp.745-747, A.S.Barnes, New York, 1955).
According to notes accompanying the archived broadside ballad, Bold Brannan On The Moor at the National Library of Scotland, this is a version of a well known folksong about the adventures of William Brennan, an 18th century highwayman who operated around the Kilworth area in County Cork, Ireland, and was hanged at Cork in 1804.
